Is Political Education an Oxymoron? Hannah Arendt’s Resistance to Public Spaces in Schools

Abstract

Hannah Arendt's model of "public space" probably entered the mainstream of educational theory with Maxine Greene's Presidential speech, "Public Education and the Public Space," at the 1982 American Educational Research Association convention. 1 Although Greene did not then or in her other works on the public draw only from Arendt's work, the particular version of the public that she developed is especially indebted to Arendt. 2 As perhaps education's best known living philosopher, Greene's conceptualization of public spaces (explicitly or implicitly) has informed a range of scholarly projects. 3 And while Arendt's work has only recently had a more direct impact on education, 4 outside of education it has become increasingly popular, generating "an academic cottage industry in Arendt studies." 5 Because in the past, figures who have risen to prominence elsewhere have often become important later on in education, interest in Arendt's work will probably continue to grow in the field.

Stories vs. Practices: Education for Political Action

“…Levinson frames her discussion partly as a response to an essay of mine, arguing that I was incorrect to ascribe to Arendt what she calls a "naturalistic" vision of action. 1 I still stand by my earlier argument. But my point was that while Arendt argues that action emerges spontaneously out of the human condition, her own writings continually undermine this argument in multiple ways.…”

The Arendtian Social in Triumph over the Public and Private in Consumer Society

“…"; and (2) "How will children learn to engage in public action as adults if they are not initiated into these practices through active engagement when they are young?" 4 If it is the case that the pre-existing world for students in 2005 is a consumerist, globalized, economistic one, then how will teachers (and parents) inform and engage their students in both understanding it and challenging it? Given Arendt's primary focus on adults in schools, if teachers are the adults and they are guides to "the way the world is," how is conformity avoided?…”

“But Some People Will Not”: Arendtian Interventions in Education

“…Hannah Arendt's Resistance to Public Spaces in Schools," Aaron Schutz offers a provocative explanation for Arendt's failure to think about the educational implications of her political thought. 4 Rather than rehearsing the familiar argument about Arendt's naive cordoning off of education from political realities, Schutz attributes Arendt's neglect of educational matters to what he calls her "naturalistic" assumptions about action. There are two stages to Schutz's argument.…”